Screen Australia backs 21 indie games

Hands over $2.6 million to back country's developers

Screen Australia has named the the 21 indie games that will receive $2.6 million in funding support, with companies like Infinity Plus Two, Flat Earth Games and Binary Space all making the cut.

"Game development is the fastest growing sector of the worldwide audiovisual market but Australian independent studios have faced a shrinking workforce and extremely tough terms of trade. Yet the sector continues to showcase its creative force with breakthrough mobile games including Fruit Ninja and Ski Safari," said COO Fiona Cameron.

"The sheer volume and quality of applications showed that there is no shortage of talent or great ideas in Australian game development. The projects in this round demonstrate Australia's unique point of difference in creative game design, and our world-class technical ability"

The full list of games supported by Screen Australia is:

Animal Dash (SA) Shark Jump Studios

Animus (VIC) Playcorp Studios

Assault Android Cactus (QLD) Witch Beam Games

Big Baby (NSW) Big Ice Cream

Blight of the Immortals (QLD) Iron Helmet

Bonza (QLD) MiniMega

Burden (VIC) Pixelpickle Games

Defect: Spaceship Destruction Kit (VIC) Three Phase Interactive

Feng Shui Master (VIC) Many Monkeys

Framed (VIC) Loveshack Entertainment

Gems of War (VIC) Infinity Plus Two

Knowledge Quest Mobile (VIC) Media Saints

Locomotivation (NSW) Garoo Games

Muse (VIC) Current Circus

Ninja Pizza Girl (QLD) Disparity Games

Oscura: Adventures in the Driftlands (VIC) Chocolate Liberation Front

Rotorhead (VIC) Trickstar Games

Siegecraft Commander (NSW) Blowfish Studios

Snow Spin (WA) Ezone

Towncraft (NSW) Flat Earth Games

Zombie Outbreak Simulator (WA) Binary Space

"This funding will allow us to ensure that TownCraft has the best possible shot at a successful international launch," added Flat Earth Games' Leigh Harris.

"We'll be able to make sure we have strong language support, hit as many platforms as we can, and can market the game properly, really giving us the best possibly shot at turning our great start into a big success."

The government revealed the first details of the fund back in February. It was comprised of a Games Production fund of between $4 million and $5 million, and a Games Enterprise fund of $2 million to $3 million. $2 million to $3 million was set aside for Multi-platform Drama Production with $400,000 made available for special initiatives.

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